


A Limited Time to Move

by Khrystarlite



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Complete, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-14 14:46:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29793495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Khrystarlite/pseuds/Khrystarlite
Summary: One-shot written for r/pokemonfanfiction's inaugural Great Fic Writing contest.Tori was not ready to take on this responsibility, but thanks to scheduling conflicts, he was the only one who could do the job. He did not have the experience to make the right calls, especially with the given time-frame. There is only so much you can do when you have a limited time to make your move. Move tutoring is no different.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 1





	A Limited Time to Move

**Author's Note:**

> Written for r/pokemonfanfiction's inaugural Great Fic Writing contest.  
> A novice writer's first fanfic. This was written like a procrastinated college paper and has the quality of one too, especially with all the "tell not show" in here. Please feel inform me of any spelling, grammar, scientific, etc. errors that my spell checker and I fail to catch. Disclaimer: Pokémon is co-owned by Nintendo, Creatures Inc., and Game Freak.  
> I do not own Pokémon.  
> This is a good thing.

Another summer Tuesday came with mild weather. Some lazy clouds rolled over the city, relieving the city from the sun's rays. The heat remained present, but there were many avenues to escape. The surrounding forests provided ample shade, the local park had a pond with cooler air, and a consistent breeze rhythmically flowed throughout the buildings. And many denizens could simply hole themselves indoors. Other than their residences and workplaces, the people had plenty of locales they could take shelter in. Children and teens found themselves in the various ice cream parlors and arcades while adults broke from their weekday routine at sandwich shops and cafes. And yet, despite all the other options available to them, a number of people found themselves coming and going to one of the local schools. 

Typically, academic facilities are on a list of places that folks want to avoid, especially with all the other places they could spend their time at instead. This particular school was lucky enough to offer resources and services to entice some people. As a pseudo-government-funded community center, the school provided a semi-public place to escape the heat with plenty to do. The library had a decent collection to study almost any topic. There was free computer and internet access for those who needed that. Some of the faculty offered specialized knowledge and services to visitors while advising students who found an interest in these fields. And of course, the courts behind the school provided a controlled environment for Pokémon trainers to practice battling and performing. 

Like many other schools, there was a strong emphasis on Pokémon in general. Battling was naturally the most popular focus and usually attracted a crowd on the courts. There were plenty of resources to study the nuances off the court as well as engage in other fields related to studying. The nature of the library made it a simpler and quieter place. The smaller crowd mostly kept to themselves or worked in smaller groups. Some of them were immersed in the books they were reading, some were working through calculations on white boards, and some made use of the available computer resources. 

However, there is a single time during the day where the usage for these facilities is close to zero. During this time, everyone gathered around a single facility - the cafeteria. As the curriculum of this school was highly Pokémon oriented, it had a number of features to accommodate said Pokémon so they could spend more time with their trainers. The cafeteria was one such place. The main hall was surprisingly large with ample space. Near each hub of tables was an area designated for the Pokémon to eat and relax at. Toward the back was an outer area that opened up to the fields and ponds that lead to the back courts. This area was perfect for people with larger and aviary Pokémon so there would be enough room for them to be comfortable. 

Lunchtime at the cafeteria was lively even during summer break as students and faculty intermingled with other drop-ins. In one particular corner of the outer area was a party of four humans, three teens and their _favorite_ teacher, and their Pokémon were all eating while engaging in idle chit chatter. Every so often, the Pokémon would chime in. 

"... and Bianca's been busy revising her dissertation. I help wherever I can, but she needs to focus and I don't want to distract her," the teacher in the group explained why he wasn't going out much. Everyone around him, even his own Stoutland, responded with a combination of laughter and head shakes.  
  
"Oh, come on Cheren," the eldest the teens retorted, "Bianca's going to make more mistakes and miss important details if the only thing on her mind is that paper. Distracting her with a date is probably the healthiest way you can help her."  
  
The teen gave his teacher a wink and finger-gun gesture, only to receive a deadpan glare from the older man. Unfortunately for Cheren, the second oldest teen and only girl continued where the first teen left off, but with a more relaxed and mature tone.  
  
"Jack's got a point Cheren," the girl said with a relaxed, yet mature expression. "The best ideas for a job often come from staying away from it. You teach that in one of the mid-level battle tactics classes."  
  
The teacher turned to the girl with an eye raised. "Really Fan? You too?" 

Another round of laughter filled the air while the teacher could only sigh and shake his head. He gave a soft smile when he felt his Stoutland put a comforting paw on his leg. The teens continued to poke at the teacher's love life for a few more minutes before moving on to other subjects of interest. Subjects of conversation included the various trips the older teens had and were planning on going on to the youngest teen's current interest in placement in battle tactics. Even if none of them were competitive battlers anymore, they all had fun with the subject.  
  
"... so the Drapion used a barrage of Pin Missile and some other moves to maneuver a Buizel behind it so it could trap the Buizel with its tail?" Fan asked the younger teen. The boy and his Piplup, now sitting on the table in front of him, both nodded in confirmation.  
  
"Yeah sis. I think it was a tactic used to counter faster and more agile Pokémon," the boy replied, admiration in his voice. "We found the match because Rime wanted to work on mobility, but after seeing that Drapion trainer's placement tactics put things into perspective."  
  
"Pip-piplup!" the Piplup piped up as he hopped to his feet and pumped his fins up.  
  
The boy adopted a sad smile and rubbed the penguin's head. "Unfortunately, the Buizel relies on Aqua Jet, a move the Piplup line doesn't learn until they’re fully evolved." A sigh followed.  
  
"PIP!" said Piplup yelled and turned to jump and slap his trainer's head. When he landed, the Pokémon rapidly waved it's arms and chastised it's trainer. The other trainers at the table all laughed before the teacher joined the penguin in lecturing the boy.  
  
"Tori," Cheren began while placing a hand on the boy's shoulder and looked him in the eye, "You need to stop being so negative. Aqua Jet is not the only water type move that can be used for mobility."  
  
"Yeah! You can always try Waterfall," Fan suggested .  
  
While the Piplup cheered at the suggestion, his trainer was not as convinced. "Fan, Waterfall is stronger, but it lacks the speed and range of motion that Aqua Jet has."  
  
The others shook their heads at Tori's continued negativity and Cheren sighed while signaled for Jack to continue. What followed was a group lecture about the the similarities and differences between the two moves and how to apply the tactics a faster and more agile Pokémon has to a slower one. It took some time, but they managed to raise Tori's spirits and convince him to try teaching his Piplup Waterfall and to practice some of their suggestions. The little penguin danced around to show he was pleased with this development - a perfect ending to lunch. 

* * *

Tori and his Piplup on his right shoulder departed the cafeteria relaxed, focused, and full of renewed excitement. Even with his lingering doubts, at least the partners had a plan and short-term roadmap for what they were doing. They took their time as they headed back to the library to continue studying that old Sinnoh League match. Jack and Fan had given creative advice, but Cheren really showed his experience with advice catered towards his actual interests like the actual movements and placement strategies. It did help that the teacher saw some of the video when he grabbed Tori for lunch.  
  
The partners were about to enter the library when loud footsteps indicative of running someone calling out to them. "Tori, wait up! I need a favor!"  
  
Tori gave an exasperated sigh and his Piplup had his head down and a fin to his face. They turned . see who they were expecting. Jack was the kind of guy that was almost pleasant to be around, but he only ran after them without Fan for one reason.  
  
"Fan likes baking. Get her something that's for group baking so you or the twins can join her," Tori deadpanned and proceeded to go back into the library. He was seven steps in when his free shoulder was grabbed and he was lightly forced to turn back to face a slightly-panting Jack.  
  
The turn caused Piplup to tumble off and give an indignant cry,"Pip!"  
  
When the older teen, still slightly winded, started talking again. "Ok. First off, sorry there Piplup." He chuckled when the penguin gave a clearly annoyed but dismissive fin wave, then he straightened up and continued. "Secondly, thanks. I'll get her a new set for her birthday. And wow, Leo and Mizu got really big. I remember when they were a pair of tiny pair of tiny Eevees."  
  
"Yeah, and they even flipped personalities when they evolved. Leo used to be so excitable and Mizu used to be so timid," Tori replied back. He was partially annoyed and partially grateful that Jack had the money to spend on group activities with his sister. Whatever they had going on had been better than her last relationship. He smiled and gave the older boy a reassuring pat on the arm and nodded, then he turned to head back to the computer workstation he favored. Before he had gone more than 110°, he was grabbed again and turned back. His Piplup had anticipated this and jumped on a nearby table instead of his trainer's shoulder.  
  
"Wait, that's not the favor I needed," Jack said with loud urgency.  
  
He was met with a short hush from Tori. "Jack. This is a library."  
  
"And no one else is here," came a much calmer and quieter retort from the older teen.  
  
Tori raised an eyebrow at him and looked around to see his partner Pokémon doing the same. Jack was right - they were the only people in the library. Tori and his Piplup slumped a little, disappointed at how poor their observation and situational awareness skills were. Curbing his disappointment, Tori let out another sigh and prepared himself for his friend's antics.  
  
"Alright. I'll bite. What do you need?" 

* * *

Tori and his Piplup were still studying videos as the late summer sunset still permeated through their room's white curtains. The two spent the bulk of the afternoon and their night taking notes on these videos and they had been much more draining on their minds than the ones they had been watching before lunch. They no longer had time for videos that focused on their interests - Jack's favor was that urgent.  
  
The favor involved a task that stressed Tori out more than almost anything else, and to make matters worse, he had a time limit much shorter than what this task would normally have. Even without a short time limit, it was a hard job and the consequences for failing were relatively drastic. If Fan could have been around during the deadline, then the worst case scenario would have been just wasted time. But she would be in Almia with some of her friends by then, so that was not an option. Luckily, his Piplup was there to provide moral support.  
  
Of all the favors, it had to be move tutoring.  
  
This was not something Tori was comfortable doing, especially alone. He only had one experience tutoring and that was assisting Linda, the school's actual move tutoring expert. Unfortunately, she couldn't take up the job because she was visiting family in Johto and would not be back until the start of the school year. So Tori was stuck with the job. He now had to help one of Jack's friends teach her Pachirisu Thunder Punch.  
  
In official records of the Pokémon, Thunder Punch was in the list of loves it was known to be able to learn. But it was still an unusual move and was not a popular battle move. The first hours of the afternoon were spent scraping online video forums for footage of the Electric Squirrel Pokémon using this move. It was not surprising that videos were sparse, especially ones that were good quality, but it had been frustrating nonetheless. Still, the pair managed to find one good video that gave them a baseline to work with.  
  
They were only able to study the footage for a short amount of time before Jack returned with his friend in tow for a pre-emptive evaluation. This friend of his from Sinnoh, Celica, carried herself maturely and was very patient and understanding when Tori explained his personal worries and provided a disclaimer of expectations. Both she and her Pachirisu were still insistent on learning the move. They had already started, and were hoping for some help with the process.  
  
After eating dinner, Tori and his Piplup spent the rest of the evening studying the evaluation, which Cheren had graciously recorded with one of the school's DSLRs, and comparing the recording to the other footage. He was searching for something specific, something that was bothering him. Even during the early parts of the evaluation, Tori could tell something was wrong. His instincts flared with a sense of dreadful sense of familiarity. Whatever was wrong struck a personal cord with him, but he could not figure out what it was.  
  
Tori and his Piplup stopped in frustration after an hour of studying yielded nothing. The boy plopped onto his bed and stared at the ceiling, hoping his mind would wander and find the answer. The small penguin took a seat next to his head and used a fin to give a comforting pat. Tori adopted a small smile and pat his partner's head.  
  
"Thanks Rime. I needed that."  
  
"Pip-piplup," the Piplup happily chriped back.  
  
Tori tried to relax and focus his mind on what the problem could be. It was familiar somehow, but he could not figure out why. He had never been involved with a Pachirisu or any of the electric rodent Pokémon, so it had to be more personal. Tori thought back to his one tutoring experience. He had helped Linda teach Jack's Riolu Thunder Punch. It had been a strange yet rewarding experience. Linda had explained what was difficult about the process - most non electric type Pokémon had to gather the electricity externally or convert some form of other energy, like thermal heat or aura, into electricity whereas electric types generally channeled the electricity they generated in their own bodies. Linda lectured him a lot on the process of teaching Pokémonmoves they didn't learn naturally - something about the difference between things that were naturally intuitive and that were not.  
  
The concept that always struck a chord with him was when she described the importance of making sure the Pokémon learned the mechanic of the move correctly. The memory made him think back to his childhood with Fan, Jack, and their other friends. They had all taken badminton lessons when they were kids. Tori was always behind the other since he had a lot of bad habits.  
  
Tori bolted upright, causing his Piplup to scream and fall back in surprise. That was the answer he was looking for and it was bad. He raced back to his computer to rewatch the recording of the evaluation. The footage confirmed his fears. Just as his recovering Piplup made it back to the table, Tori stood up again, causing the penguin to look up to his trainer in confusion.  
  
"This is bad," Tori said in a slightly distressed tone. He quickly and clumsily grabbed his phone and dialed a number.  
  
"Pip?" the Piplup tilted his head. He could not tell what was upsetting his trainer. Luckily, the boy's call was answered.  
  
"Hey Fan, are you still at Jack's place? Ok good, Celica is staying there too, right?" Tori asked, pausing after each question for his sister to answer. "Good, we have a problem. I may need you to treat her Pachirisu...  
  
Yes it's that bad! But I'm willing to let her decide first. If she goes through with the treatment, then we'll have to push tomorrow's session back, but the alternative can be worse...  
  
Ok thanks. Text me what she decides on. I'll email Cheren afterwards."  
  
The call ended leaving Tori to wait. His client now had to decide what she wanted to do. It was hard since neither choice provided benefits other than avoiding problems.  
  
"Pip?" Tori turned to see his partner looking up on him. He knew what the Piplup was asking him.  
  
"Rime, that Pachirisu is just like me as a kid. She started learning before getting more experienced help, so she has bad habits.  
  
Her form is wrong. As she is now, if she tries using Thunder Punch, her risk of breaking her arm is really high." 

* * *

"You sure she's feeling better? Deep-level move deletion is exceedingly puts a lot of stress on any Pokémon, especially smaller ones. We don't want to risk her injuring herself" Tori asked Celica as they sat on the shaded grass to the side of one of the practice fields.  
  
It had been two days since they first met, leaving only 7 days, afternoons really, for him to work with. The girl and her Pachirisu had decided to go with Tori's recommendation and completely delete all of the Pokémon's prior knowledge of the move Thunder Punch. Whatever work they had done to learn the move would hinder the Pachirisu's ability to properly learn and execute the move safely.  
  
Unlearning any skill was a normally a long and arduous process that took at least twice as much time and effort and ten times the patients as learning the initial learning process did. Even then, there would be remnants of that learning period that would interfere and get in the way should instincts flair and call upon them.  
  
Luckily Fan was gifted with low level psychic power that allowed her to work with the memories of Pokémon. She could bring out memories of old and unpracticed skills a Pokémon had before and help their body remember the movements. And, as she had done with Celica's Pachirisu, she could do a deep-level move deletion by wiping all trace of the move and a Pokémon's experience using it from both the mind and the body. It was a dangerous process that put a great deal of strain on the Pokémon, and Tori was worried that the little Pachirisu would be still too strained.  
  
Celica gave him a smile that helped make him feel more at ease. "Ada is fine. She was a little tired this morning, but she still has a lot of energy. Look."  
  
The girl pointed over to a nearby shaded pond where her Pachirisu was playing with the other Pokémon. His Piplup was blowing bubbles that the Pachirisu was racing Fan's Vaporeon to pop. A small smile found its way to Tori's face and a short chuckle escaped his lips. He turned back to Celica who was still smiling.  
  
"She really wants to get started if that's alright with you," she said earnestly.  
  
"Alright," Tori conceded and tried to relax himself a bit more. "But we're still taking it easy today. We start in twenty minutes. You should get her ready in ten. And don't be afraid to ask questions during breaks. If you need someone to talk to, Fan and Jack are hanging out by the tree over there." He informed her while pointing to their friends.  
  
She gave a brief nod then leaned back to relax. They let their Pokémon play and passed the time with idle conversation about each other's lives and interests. Tori found their talk pleasant and relaxing, a pleasant change of pace from the clients he knew Linda often had to deal with. 

When the time came, Celica left to bring her Pachirisu to the field so they could get ready and stretch their muscles. Tori also began stretching and preparing his mind. He had his notes of what he wanted to cover in these lessons, but there was a good chance they would not have enough time to get through it all. There was so much to tutoring and learning moves and their time was limited.  
  
His thoughts were interrupted when and his Piplup and Celica's Pachirisu came racing to the field and began running circles around him. He heard cheerful giggling as Celica came jogging to catch up to them. While Tori was a bit annoyed, he let it slide - learning was generally better when the students were smiling.  
  
Both trainers got the Pokémon to stop and stretch. They had a little bit of time before the official start time, but Tori decided to get an off-the-field head start.  
  
"Rime, could you grab the tablet out of my bag?" Tori asked his partner. The Piplup cheered as he jumped up and ran off to get the device. Celica and her Pachirisu tilted their heads in confusion.  
  
"Notes?"  
  
Tori shook his head before replying. "Since we've still got a bit of time, I figure we should start with some videos." Just as he finished, he heard his Piplup cry and run over with a tablet in his fins. He took the device and thanked the penguin while patting his head. He then proceeded to explain what he was showing them.  
  
"So, Jack told you about how helped teach his Riolu Thunder Punch, right?" He asked and continued when Celica's Pachirisu responded with an excited chirp and nodded enthusiastically. "What we're doing isn't exactly going to work like that." His clients were confused but gestured for him to continue.  
  
"You and a Riolu have different problems," Tori said pointing at the Pachirisu. "Riolus aren't electric type, so their problem is generating electricity and channeling it into their paws. You don't have this problem. What we need to focus on before we get to that stage is your punching ability."  
  
The little squirrel eagerly nodded while she and her trainer took in the information. The squirrel made pseudo punching gesture when Tori brought up punching  
  
"Fighting type Pokémon don't typically worry about this because punching is intuitive to them. Punching will be difficult for you because of how your arms are structured." He continued and got a confirmation chirp from his Piplup. "Here, this video may be about two humans, but it will show you how someone small can generate strength in their punches."  
  
Tori passed Celica the tablet with a video already loaded. She angled herself so all four of them could watch when she hit play. The video starred two famous fighting type gym leaders, Chuck of Cianwood City in Johto and Maylene of Veilstone City in Sinnoh, giving a seminar in the Saffron City dojo. Chuck was giving a loud and boisterous lecture on different ways to generate power for punches and got into position to demonstrate. The male gym leader adopted a powerful stance that would be hard to move and Maylene took a similar stance relatively close to him. She didn't rotate back like most of the audience was expecting. Her arm started only a little bit away from Chuck before she struck. Chuck was sent flying a few feet back to the surprise at a gasping audience. When he landed, he gave a boisterous laugh, then the video ended.  
  
The Pachirisu was hopping up and down in excitement as her trainer passed the tablet back and started patting her head. Tori took it and proceeded to scroll back to Maylene's punch and replayed it at a slower speed.  
  
"See how her body and joints rotate? Theoretically we should be able to achieve the same thing. Got it" Celica and her Pachirisu both nodded in response.  
  
"Alright, let's get started," Tori said to the female pair. He then looked Celica in the eye and informed her, "I'll be recording the sessions for later reference, but you should still watch and see if you can pick up on the details."  
  
"Okay," Celica simply replied with a smile. 

* * *

As he said, they took it easy for the first lesson. The squirrel may have been energetic, but her body and mind were clearly still a little fatigued. She tired easily, prompting for shorter sets and frequent breaks. Celica sat back with the DSLR with his Piplup who was relaxing on standby.  
  
Luckily for Tori, both Linda and Professor Kukui managed to email him back while the Pachirisu was recovering. They sent him reference photos, videos from their local area, and their own advice on how to proceed. The Pachirisu was very enthusiastic about learning, but perhaps she was too excitable and impatient. Even with the deep-level deletion, she would be off form frequently or get too excited and try to channel electricity to her paws prematurely.  
  
Naturally, Tori started off focused on the squirrel's punching form. There were a lot of nuances to it that focused on rotating body parts, but Tori did not push too hard. He was not expecting perfection, but he proactively stopped and corrected the Pachirisu whenever she made a mistake. Sometimes, her arms did not punch straight, sometimes her non dominant arm would have no enthusiasm in its strike. She would also instinctively try to charge electricity to her paws, causing a small discharge elsewhere along her body or her form to just be off.  
  
Around their third break Celica approached and asked about the form and why not learn while channeling the electricity for the Thunder Punch.  
  
"Well, like I said earlier, the problem with Thunder Punch for her isn't the 'thunder', it's the 'punch'. There are few other reasons also," Tori started. "I just think it's better if they are learned independently. It would probably be faster if I let her do that, but it may get in the way in the future."  
  
"Pip-pip!" chimed in his Piplup who nodded in agreement.  
  
The Pachirisu looked up from the Oran Berry it had been munching on and looked at Tori with confusion. "Chipa?"  
  
"Why would it get in the way? We are trying to learn an electric punching move." Celica inquired and retorted.  
  
A short chuckle escaped his lips as he leaned back to think a little first before replying. "Right now, Thunder Punch is the only 'punch' move a Pachirisu can be taught. But that doesn't mean some genius won't figure out how to teach one Fire Punch or Ice Punch. If I don't stop her, she'll probably only be able to associate punches with electricity. It would get in the way of learning a different 'punch' move, especially another elemental one."  
  
The girls in the group both looked at each other, the Pokémon with a confused face and the human with an understanding one. The human girl pat her Pokémon's head and reassured her, "It's alright Ada, it will work out better if you do what he says." The Pachirisu nodded and went back to eating her berry, but kept her eyes on Tori in case he continued.  
  
He did with a node. "So yeah, Working on charging the electricity while learning to punch would make learning Thunder Punch faster, but it would limit the options on what you can learn later." 

The lesson continued with this cycle for the next hour. All they worked on was the punching form and Tori was pleased with their progress. When they started, he had to correct the Pachirisu around 60% of her punches. Less than two hours later, it was down to around 30%. However, the Pachirisu's fatigue was growing and that consistency would start dropping if they continued. With only half an hour left, he decided to switch things up.  
  
"Alright, no more punches today. After this break, we'll work on channeling electricity," he told his clients who were both surprised.  
  
"Pacha?" The Pachirisu gave a tired chirp that conveyed her excitement and confusion.  
  
"What happened to no electricity while punching?" Celica asked, just as surprised and confused as her squirrel.  
  
"We aren't doing that. No more punching today - her arms and shoulders are too tired." Tori explained while pointing to the Pachirisu's drooping arms. "Any more punches will be wasted because she won't be able to maintain a higher level of quality. Besides, channeling electricity won't be as physically straining on her muscles."  
  
The explanation was accepted and they followed Tori's lead. When the break was over, they were back on the field. Tori let the Pachirisu try channeling on her own a few times before jumping in and providing further instruction. She had a pretty common problem amongst electric type Pokémon. Right now, the Pachirisu was not actually channeling the electricity to her arms - she was just allowing the electricity to discharge through her whole body like a small scale discharge. Channeling electricity was relatively easier than just punching for most electric types, but channeling electricity to just single parts of the body was relatively difficult to do with efficient precision.  
  
  
  
They spent the rest of their time trying to build up the Pachirisu's channeling precision, but they didn't have much to go off of other than a painful touch. This troubled Tori since he thought he would have an easier time with this half of the move. He could estimate that there was less electricity in the air, but he currently didn't have a way to measure their progress.  
  
At the end of the lesson, the Pachirisu looked exhausted and sleepy. Celica face was painted with concern as she rubbed her Pokémon's back to try and help her feel better.Her head snapped up when Tori called out to her  
  
"Celica, make sure she stretches, especially her arms and and shoulders. She's going to be sore tomorrow, might as well minimize the impact," the boy recommended as he and his Piplup were busy cleaning up their equipment. She did as he said and worked on helping her Pachirisu stretch, but it was difficult since the squirrel looked like she was falling asleep. When Tori and his Piplup were done with cleanup, she was asleep in Celica's arms.  
  
"So, she did ok today, right?" Celica asked with a motherly concern. The boy gave a somewhat tired nod to her and reassured her."  
  
"Pip-piplup!" the penguin shouted in affirmation as he hopped on his shoulder.  
  
"Yeah, she did great. Still a lot of things to work on, but I think that was solid progress. By the way," Tori paused and handed her a paper list. "Here's a recommendation list of things she should and should not do outside of these sessions. Make sure she doesn't do any punches at all. Got it?"  
  
With affirmation from each other, they concluded the session and parted ways 

* * *

The second and third days' sessions were almost identical in structure to the first one. Instead of being tired from the move deletion, the Pachirisu's body was sore from all the punching. For the most part, Tori kept to the same routine as the first day - two hours of punching and half an hour of channeling. He took the routine in stride and stayed focused on his goal of laying down a solid foundation for the move. He may have been the tutor, but he was learning just as much as his student. Only a few things really changed. Celica hung out more in the shade with Fan and Jack, Tori's Piplup being on standby until needed was him hanging around with the other Pokémon at the pond, and Tori got an industrial voltmeter from Cheren to help measure the Pachirisu's channeling precision.  
  
He could feel both of their improvements in his sensory systems. His eyes were getting better at spotting off-form motions. If he was physically correcting a movement, he could feel the difference between a correct motion and an incorrect one. As for the Pachirisu's progress, it was evident that she was getting better; her punches were more consistent, so Tori did not need to correct her as much. Her channeling also improved so that she was discharging less electricity while channeling to her fists. However, the progress was not felt by everyone.  
  
The fourth session was shaping up to be the same as before. They started out still punching, but there was no real progress and it felt like the Pachirisu had regressed. All of a sudden, her form was sloppy and careless. She would do the motions, but it was without focus or energy. On the hour break, the Pachirisu just plopped down with a huff. Tori had enough and called Celica over to try and make sense of the squirrel's regression. When the girl came over, he explained how her Pokémonwas suddenly doing as bad as she was the first day.  
  
"Alright, I'm at a loss. Is she sick? Too tired? Has she lost interested in learning? What is going on?" Tori rapid fire questioned the girl who was kneeling to attend to her pouting Pachirisu.  
  
Celica frowned at what she was hearing. She was disappointed that her Pokémon was doing poorly, but she did not have any answers. She looked up to him and simply replied, "I don't know Tori. I just know that she isn't as excited as she was before."  
  
Tori sighed before crouching down besides them. "Then I don't know what to do. It's like she doesn't care if she's doing better or not. She's not going to improve unless she cares."  
  
Before either of the teens could move, the Pachirisu reached up and tapped a Pokéball on her trainer's belt returning back to her ball. Both teens were at a loss on what to do. Everyone wanted that Pachirisu to succeed, and they were clearly on the right track. But this sudden lack of interest was cause for multiple concerns. Luckily, the answer came to them before they could waste time mulling it over.  
  
"Isn't it obvious Tori?"  
  
Both teens looked up to see Fan and Jack approaching them. They were both still relaxed, but their faces were more stern than normal.  
  
"What do you guys mean?" he stood and asked in confusion.  
  
Jack shook his head and turned to Celica. "Celica, how old is your Pachirisu?"  
  
The girl also stood tall to answer her friends. "She's a little under a year old."  
  
Tori almost flinched back at that, but the back of his head was slapped first.  
  
"Exactly Tori. This Pachirisu is still just a kid. She's obviously bored," Fan lectured with an even and firm tone. "This is the fourth day and you're still doing the same, repetitive thing. You said yourself that there wasn't a lot of time to make progress. It probably feels like next to know progress for her."  
  
The lecture continued for a while until Tori got the picture. Jack and Fan headed back to the tree first. Soon after, Celica said she would join them and try and talk her Pachirisu into trying again. Alone at the field, Tori sat down, leaned back into the grass, and sighed. He knew he had to keep trying, but it would be difficult even with everyone's suggestions. He had no experience dealing with bored kids let alone bored kid Pokémon. All of his friends from badminton were people who followed a principle that they had to be pinnacles of perfection before they were good enough to be bored. But Celica's Pachirisu was not like them in age let alone resolve. He should have kept that in mind. He continued to mull over the problem before feeling restless where he was, so he stood and walked around.  
  
His aimless wandering landed him close to where his bag was. With no answers coming to him, he decided to open his notebook and see if his notes on other battles could give him ideas. He flipped through the pages, the notes helping him recall certain battles, attacks, and movements. A key thing he noticed was that his notes often detailed how to work with or against certain strategies with his Piplup. Smiling, he closed his notebook and checked his watch. They still had a little over an hour left and he knew what he had to try. He reached into his backpack for a piece of equipment he had not used yet but was certain would help right now. 

When he made it to where the others were, things were not much better still. Celica's Pachirisu was out of her ball, but she was still huffing and pouting. She refused to eat anything and would shock anyone who tried to get too close, except Celica. He could see that Rime was also singed and a little twitchy, probably from trying to help. Tori approached his client and student and took a seat next to them.  
  
"Any progress?" he calmly asked Celica. She sighed and shook her head.  
  
"Only a little. At least she's out of her ball."  
  
Tori gave her a small smile before sticking something in the ground behind him, then reaching out to pat the Pachirisu's head. Almost reflexively, she let out a discharge of electricity at his hand. So it surprised her that his hand did not slow down and he succeeded in patting her head. Tori then picked her up and held her at eye-level. The Pachirisu stopped discharging when she saw why he was not getting shocked - he was wearing insulated gloves, one of which had a wire going out behind him.  
  
"Alright kid, let's talk," Tori started. The Pachirisu was forced to keep looking at him, but she showed her resistance with puffed out cheeks.  
  
"I've been told that you're bored of the training sessions - is that correct?" The Pachirisu, still pouting, nodded its head.  
  
"Ok then. That's my bad. I'm sorry the program is boring. I just thought I was putting what you wanted first," Tori continued.  
  
Even though it had no effect on him, the Pachirisu released more electricity to show her displeasure. Tori raised an eyebrow and retorted. "Excuse me? You said, you wanted to learn how to use Thunder Punch. I told you we probably don't have time. I am teaching you the skills needed to practice and learn without me if we don't get that far."  
  
"Chapi-Pacha-Chipach!" the Pachirisu screeched out. She then cycled to do a bunch of punches and then she channeled electricity into her arms, just like what they did in training.  
  
"Yes you have gotten better. You know how you got better? By doing those same exercises over and over again. They're foundation drills. You will suck at the actual difficult part if you can't even do these." The squirrel in his hands crossed her arms, turned her head to side and pouted again.  
  
"Look, I know it wasn't very exciting, but I was focused on helping you get better. Was it the best program? No, but I warned you," He turned the Pachirisu back to Celica. "I warned both of you that I would be focused on success. This is what you agreed to. What all three of us agreed to." He turned the squirrel back to face him and was greeted by another ineffective shock followed by more punches.  
  
"I was waiting for you to be consistent at both those skills, and even then, you still need to practice them. Skill consistency is the first thing that goes when you stop practicing." Another shock.  
  
When it stopped, Tori took off his non-grounded glove and discarded it to the side. His hand reached out to pet the Pachirisu in his other hand. The squirrel was still pouting, but she seemed more pacified. He then told her, "Like I said, we all committed to helping you learn this move. I want to uphold that bargain and try again. Do you still want to try learning Thunder Punch?"  
  
Low grumbling came out of Pachirisu's mouth followed by a solid, "Pachi!", and a nod. Tori, sent her a soft smile.  
  
"I do too. Ok?" the squirrel gave another nod.  
  
"Ok. I have one condition," Tori started before turning both himself and the Pachirisu towards her trainer. "I don't expect you to apologize to me. I expect you to apologize to her. You've made her so worried about you." The squirrel looked back to him, then back to her trainer, then back to him and nodded and chirped again.  
  
"Alright. We have a little under forty minutes left. Let's try again. If your consistency is better, I promise tomorrow we'll spend less time on these drills. When you're up there, it's like maintenance or a quality check. If you do good faster, the less time needs to be spent on them, capiche?"  
  
"Chapi!" And another nod from the squirrel.  
  
"Alright, now go apologize to Celica, then meet me back on the field." And with that, he released his student as he said. He gathered his discarded glove and ungrounded himself, then stood to stretch. While he was doing so, Fan called out to him.  
  
"Nicely handled Tori." He turned to see both she and Jack wearing proud smiles. Fan continued, "You've grown in these past few days."  
  
He looked up at the sky for a moment of contemplation, then nodded and looked back at the pair. "Yeah, I guess I have. Thanks for that guys."  
  
And with that, he turned back to the field and began heading down. He paused then turned back to his partner and called to him, "Hey Rime! Thanks for helping out. If she does well enough today, I'll need your help in the field tomorrow and the rest of the week."  
  
"Pip-piplup!" came the reply as his partner gave him a salute.  
  
A proud grin graced Tori's face as he saluted back before turning back and making his way to the field where he would wait for his student to be ready again. 

* * *

The next two days of teaching Celica's Pachirisu had been much better and productive. With her new determination to escape the consistency drills, she was motivated to get better faster. Tori was glad she passed his test at the end of the fourth day so he could update the program. She maintained her consistent high performance into the start of each day so they moved onto newer drills after the first twenty minutes.  
  
The new drills were much more active for the Pachirisu and had a faster ramp. Since she was consistent enough at both haves, Tori gave her the greenlight to actually try using Thunder Punch. He attached the voltmeter to a thirty kilogram sand-punching bag for her to practice striking at. The punching forms paid off in spades as she held the form nicely after charging the electricity into her arm. After an hour and a half of practice on the fifth day, the Pachirisu landed a powerful blow to the punching bag, sending it flying over fifteen yards and with over twenty volts of power. It was a true Thunder Punch that, something she spent some of her breaks dancing about.  
  
Of course, this was no different than when she started punching on the first day. She could do it, but not at a high quality, not consistently, and definitely not on the move yet. Tori's Piplup was a great help for these movement based drills. His bubble based attacks provided targets the Pachirisu could practice punching at high speed while having little pullback or charge time. The bubbles were also useful as projectiles to dodge and avoid while charging and moving in to strike the punching bag. By the end of the sixth day, she was not consistent yet, but she was getting there. 

* * *

"Alright! Go for it on the right! Slide under the first stream then jump over the next one!" Celica cried out as her Pacirisu charged through a screen of bubbles to strike at the punching bag again.  
  
"That's it you two, you got this one!" Tori shouted supportively followed by a cheer from his Piplup  
  
It was just the four of them today. Fan had left for her trip to Almia and Zack was doing a job at the Undella Bay Resort. But before they left, they reminded Tori of another key mistake he made. Even with her Pachirisu's renewed dedication and enthusiasm, Tori had not involved Celica enough in the training. They may leave her Pachirisu had the foundations of Thunder Punch, but they still needed to know how to use the move together. Celica needed to see the battle environment and her Pachirisu needed to hear the commands and advice straight from her mouth.  
  
So, on the very last day of this training program. Tori had Celica work on just that. He set up and guided them through the training procedures and made his usual corrections, but the girls had to work in harmony to develop the move further. They were making progress, but they were far from proficient. And they were running out of time.  
  
But at this very moment, none of them noticed. They were too immersed in this training to check the time. Perhaps this goes on that ever growing list that Tori missed. The engagement between multiple people and Pokémon working together towards the same goal. That goal may have centered mainly around one of them, but they were all involved. They were all invested.  
  
A loud impact thud reverberated around them as the Pachirisu reached the bag again and struck it with her sparking arm. It was sent flying again, thought not as far as the last time. When the squirrel landed, she was panting, but her cheeks were upturned into a smile that matched her trainer.  
  
When the remaining bubbles all popped or dispersed, Tori and his Piplup jogged onto the field to inspect the bag. Like they observed, it did not fly as far as the last strike, but it was still higher than average. The important check was the voltmeter. Trainer and Pokémon leaned down to check the number and read twenty seven volts.  
  
They turned back to the girls and called out, "Above average distance, highest voltage yet!" and heard the pair cheer in celebration. He checked his watch for the time and was disappointed. They were out of it.  
  
"Hey Celica! Times up! Go stretch you too" he called out again. He then turned to his partner and held out the voltmeter. "You mind putting this in my bag Rime? And then stop the camera recording?"  
  
The penguin proudly puffed out his chest and took the device. Tori heaved the bag over his shoulder and made his way to the storage area to put it away. When he was done and made his way back, he saw the other members of his training session all stretching together, prompting him to job over and join them.  
  
"Not bad everybody," he said as he took a seat next to them. All three of the others gave a small cheer back.  
  
"Yeah, it's too bad this is all the time we have," Celica replied while still smiling. "I wish I had been more involved. I feel like things would have gone better from the start if I did."  
  
"Chapi-pa!" her Pachirisu cried in affirmation.  
  
Tori kept smiling but shook his head, "Maybe, maybe not. I get I wouldn't have been so open to it at the start of the week. Maybe that fourth day would have gone better."  
  
"Pi-pip!" chirped out his Piplup with a nod.  
  
Tori nodded back to him before continuing. "Besides, I think the only one who didn't make too many mistakes was Rime, but that's because he wasn't too heavily involved yet."  
  
Said Piplup jumped to his feet with a fin on his puffed out chest, then proceeded to burst out in laughter. The other three quickly joined him, abandoning their stretches for more comfortable positions.  
  
"Hey, sorry again for not being able to fully teach her Thunder Punch," Tori apologized to Celica. Both the female trainer and Pokémon shook their heads in disagreement and offered hands of comfort for his shoulders.  
  
"No you did exactly what you said you would," Celica said happily. "Ada can still use the move and you've given us more than enough to keep working on it."  
  
"Pachipa!" said Pachirisu called out in agreement.  
  
"Yeah, but we're still not satisfied, are we Rime?" Tori turned to his partner only to be greeted with a deadpan glare. The Piplup then jumped up and used his fin to smack the back of his trainers head.  
  
That got the girls laughing again. When they calmed down, Celica continued. "It's fine to not be satisfied, but at least appreciate what you did accomplish. Seriously. Thank you." Her Pachirisu nodded in agreement.  
  
Tori chuckled and lowered his head a little. This debate was lost, but that was ok. Maybe they were right. Maybe one day he would be more content with his incomplete work. He checked his watch again - it was getting late. He slowly got up and stretched out his legs a bit more.  
  
"Come on, we gotta get going soon. We still have to put away the rest of the equipment," Tori pointed out as he leaned forward and extended his hand out towards Celica. The girl took it and got to her feet. They got to work gathering the rest of the equipment they used and moved them toward the supply closet they belonged in. It only took a few minutes, then they were on their way out again.  
  
They were halfway to the school entrance when a realization hit Tori. "Crap! I forgot Fan's DSLR." The Piplup on his shoulder slapped a fin to his face and shook his head.  
  
The party of four turned and ran back to the field for the camera. It only took them a minute to get back, but when they reached there, Tori inhaled sharply. Everything but the camera was there. Panic almost fully overtook him when he heard giggling from the girls. He pivoted around to see Celica was carrying the camera in its bag. She held them up to show him.  
  
"Don't worry. I've got it." Relief washed over the boy as he let out the breath. He walked over to her to take the camera back, only to miss as she backpedaled away. "Nope! Not yet!"  
  
Tori's eye started to twitch at the girl in front of him. He really needed that camera back or his sister would kill him. "Not funny Celica. I need that back."  
  
She giggled as she backed up again and replied, "I know. That's what I'm counting on. All you have to do is make up for one last mistake you made during our lessons."  
  
"Alright," Tori exhaled and sighed. "What mistake was it and what do you want?"  
  
A wide grin spread across her face as she started to circle him and talk, "They are one and the same," she paused for a moment to get back in front of him, then continued. "You spent an entire week teaching Ada a move and I never once got to use it in a battle against you."  
  
Tori blinked in confusion before asking, "A battle?"  
  
"That's right Tori. You and that Piplup of yours owe Ada and me a battle! The field’s empty, so get your butt to the other end now please!" She said while smiling. Tori would have been entranced if not for the Pachirisu standing a little too close to the camera bag with her cheeks sparking. He signed then turned to look at his partner, who was giving him a deadpan for so many reasons. Then they both chuckled and let go of the tension.  
  
"Alright. You're on! Ready Rime?" his Piplup cheered with its fins stretched outward to pump itself up.  
  
The two trainers and their Pokémon took their positions and prepared themselves. In unison, they all shouted out their first commands.  
  
"Rime! Use Bubblebeam!"  
  
"Ada! Use Thunder Punch!" 


End file.
